I am a big fan of NPR. They have some great programming that provides a nice overview of news and cutting edge thinking. Not all of their programs are winners, though, and neither are all of their guests. A while ago I caught a few minutes of a special on bed bugs. They were in the middle of interviewing the U.S. Army's chief bug expert (yes that is a post in our military -- he'll tell you what type of Deet to pack).
When you think "U.S. military" you probably think of corn-fed Americans carrying around 100 pound packs in 100 degree weather. This dude did not convey that image. At all times he carries on his person a tube of live bed bugs. He lets them roam his hand and suck his blood to stay alive. He displayed his calf, which he had apparently offered up to the bed bugs as a snack, to the program host. It looked "welty" to her. The Pope gets more action than this guy, I thought.
The reason I bring this up is that I'm currently getting destroyed by Australia's native mosquito population. At last count I was sporting about 30 mozzie bites from my knees on down. My body has this great reaction where the bites at first form the typical pink bump, then morph into dark purple welts. As a result, I am both looking like the bug expert and in need of his services. Irony.
Monday, November 29, 2010
The best thing in America...
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sydney Flugtag
If I told you to get a few friends together and spend every waking moment you're not in work building a flying contraption, and then I told you to chuck it off a building and throw yourself off after it, you'd probably say that's not a very good idea.
In fact this idea is so good it has been institutionalized by the fine folks over at Red Bull, who have been hosting Flugtag, an annual celebration of building shit that won't fly, since 1991. The first was held in Vienna, Austria and it changes location every year. It just happened to be taking place in Sydney a week after we landed.
The rules are simple: Anyone can enter. The contraption cannot be motor powered. It must meet size and weight limits determined by each location. There can only be one pilot and three crew. You must launch your machine off of a 30 foot high tower into some body of water, which in our case was the Sydney harbor. It must float. It helps to drink heavily prior to your turn.
Entrants are judged based on distance they fly, creativity, and showmanship. Most people worked the "creativity" angle and entered things that ignored basic laws of aerodynamics, such as "Don't make it shaped like a pint of beer" and "Don't make it shaped like a pirate ship."
The team that won for distance did decide to follow these rules, but they also had an unfair advantage: they were all students at an aeronautical college.... We only got a few photos because it was so packed, but you can check 'em out below.
In fact this idea is so good it has been institutionalized by the fine folks over at Red Bull, who have been hosting Flugtag, an annual celebration of building shit that won't fly, since 1991. The first was held in Vienna, Austria and it changes location every year. It just happened to be taking place in Sydney a week after we landed.
The rules are simple: Anyone can enter. The contraption cannot be motor powered. It must meet size and weight limits determined by each location. There can only be one pilot and three crew. You must launch your machine off of a 30 foot high tower into some body of water, which in our case was the Sydney harbor. It must float. It helps to drink heavily prior to your turn.
Entrants are judged based on distance they fly, creativity, and showmanship. Most people worked the "creativity" angle and entered things that ignored basic laws of aerodynamics, such as "Don't make it shaped like a pint of beer" and "Don't make it shaped like a pirate ship."
The team that won for distance did decide to follow these rules, but they also had an unfair advantage: they were all students at an aeronautical college.... We only got a few photos because it was so packed, but you can check 'em out below.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Sculpture by the Sea
A few weekends ago we decided to check out the Sculptures By The Sea walk. (http://sculpturebythesea.com/). We had only been here two weeks and had heard great things about it from several people. The walk is an annual exhibit that starts at Bondi Beach and goes down to Tamarama Beach. This coastal walk is accessible all year long but during these few weeks there are beautiful (and not so beautiful) sculptures from a wide range of artists along the entire walk.
This was an amazing way to check out a few great beaches as well as some pretty sweet views. Afterward, we walked a little farther to Bronte Beach where we attended a BBQ birthday party. Overall, it was a great day! Check out our pictures.
This was an amazing way to check out a few great beaches as well as some pretty sweet views. Afterward, we walked a little farther to Bronte Beach where we attended a BBQ birthday party. Overall, it was a great day! Check out our pictures.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
New Apartment #2!
Our "apartment plan" is to sublet until our furniture and stuff arrive late January. For our first month we were subletting a bedroom in Double Bay. Now for our second month we are subletting our friends', Tess and Scott, apartment until January. Come January we will be in another place and then February we will be in our final apartment. Phew!
So as of today we are in our new place and loving it! It is a 2 bedroom located in Elizabeth Bay in the Eastern Suburbs and has a huge balcony. Everyone in NYC should be totally jealous right now.
Here are a couple pictures.
So as of today we are in our new place and loving it! It is a 2 bedroom located in Elizabeth Bay in the Eastern Suburbs and has a huge balcony. Everyone in NYC should be totally jealous right now.
Here are a couple pictures.
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| Living Room with view of Harbor |
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| Kitchen |
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| Bathroom |
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Movember November!
As many of you know, Adam and I departed from The States on October 30th which got us into Australia the morning of November 1st. That day marked the first day of a month long charity to raise money for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression.
Men participating in this month long charity show their support by raising money and sporting a super fine mustache, also known as Mo Bros. At first, we had no idea this was the case and just thought that we stepped back in time to the 80's where everyone reminded me of my father and his mustache. Luckily, the truth became known and a sense of relief fell over both Adam and myself.
Prime example number one... our recently acquired awesome Aussie friend Max (and his fabulous fiance Elma).
With only a week left to go I'm kinda sad to see it end. For more information on Movember or how to get it started in your town check out their website. Its totally legit! http://au.movember.com/about
Men participating in this month long charity show their support by raising money and sporting a super fine mustache, also known as Mo Bros. At first, we had no idea this was the case and just thought that we stepped back in time to the 80's where everyone reminded me of my father and his mustache. Luckily, the truth became known and a sense of relief fell over both Adam and myself.
Prime example number one... our recently acquired awesome Aussie friend Max (and his fabulous fiance Elma).
With only a week left to go I'm kinda sad to see it end. For more information on Movember or how to get it started in your town check out their website. Its totally legit! http://au.movember.com/about
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Settling In
It's now been 3 weeks since our arrival to Sydney and what was suppose to be our first week of holiday was really getting down to business. We got settled into our first sublet, got bank accounts (which required an afternoon drink at the pub to make the final decision) and 2 days to get our phones setup. I guess having no credit in a foreign country can only play against you. Alas, we have phones and are very much back on the grid. We also had to file for our TFN, which is basically the Australia version of a social security number. That will come in handy when pay day comes around.
Here are a couple pictures of our hood in Double Bay. A woman we were chatting with just today called it "Double Pay." Rightfully so, it is pretty expensive in this area but its super expensive everywhere. To that point... a good blog name probably would have been EverythingsExpensive.blogger.com. And this coming from a gal who was living in Manhattan for the last 6 years. Oy Vey!
Here are a couple pictures of our hood in Double Bay. A woman we were chatting with just today called it "Double Pay." Rightfully so, it is pretty expensive in this area but its super expensive everywhere. To that point... a good blog name probably would have been EverythingsExpensive.blogger.com. And this coming from a gal who was living in Manhattan for the last 6 years. Oy Vey!
This is our place on Cross Street!
This is one block away in front of our apartment. Beautiful public park that overlooks the bay.
More views...
Redfern beach
One more week here and then we are off to our next month long sublet. This one does not include a roommate. Supposedly, our stuff should arrive sometime in January but I guess we will have to wait and see.
Blog Names are Hard
The goal was simple: set up a blog so Sharon and I could share our experiences in Oz with friends and family. We had things we wanted to write about before even leaving the States. We’re only now getting started for the simple reason that we couldn’t agree on a name.
Obviously, we have different styles. I wanted something attention-getting (some might say immature) that would make you think "I have to read this blog". Ideas shot down by Sharon included Hunting Koala Bears, Hunting Baby Kangaroos (Hunting pretty much anything would fly), Eating Dingo Babies (a play on the Seinfeld line "Maybe the dingo ate your baby?"), Moving to Sydney - Oy Vey!, and about a dozen others I can’t recall anymore.
Sharon really liked Two Tickets to Oz, a riff on Two Tickets to Paradise. She also touted Shadam in Oz (Sharon + Adam = Shadam), which I nixed. We were at an impasse for weeks, both trying to think of that awesome name that was witty, funny, engaging, and a great guest at cocktail parties.
Finally, we agreed to The View Down Under which is fitting since the blog is about how we see things in Australia.
Also, I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog — that way you don’t have to check back for new posts, they’ll be delivered right to you.
Enjoy!
Obviously, we have different styles. I wanted something attention-getting (some might say immature) that would make you think "I have to read this blog". Ideas shot down by Sharon included Hunting Koala Bears, Hunting Baby Kangaroos (Hunting pretty much anything would fly), Eating Dingo Babies (a play on the Seinfeld line "Maybe the dingo ate your baby?"), Moving to Sydney - Oy Vey!, and about a dozen others I can’t recall anymore.
Sharon really liked Two Tickets to Oz, a riff on Two Tickets to Paradise. She also touted Shadam in Oz (Sharon + Adam = Shadam), which I nixed. We were at an impasse for weeks, both trying to think of that awesome name that was witty, funny, engaging, and a great guest at cocktail parties.
Finally, we agreed to The View Down Under which is fitting since the blog is about how we see things in Australia.
Also, I recommend subscribing to the RSS feed for this blog — that way you don’t have to check back for new posts, they’ll be delivered right to you.
Enjoy!
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